The Olympics: a brief moment when we the world come together to flex our competitive muscles. We celebrate those individuals who embody the best of what is humanly possible in physical performance, drive, discipline and mental fortitude.

Women’s gymnastics – we watched little teenage girls as young as 14 bounce off various surfaces with pinpoint precision, fearlessly spiral through the air, and land on their feet as we looked on in amazement.

The Olympics inspire us to be better and shame us for being less than what we could be. What does it take to bring out our “A” game? Getting up earlier to exercise, meditating, focusing, eating a healthy breakfast, and blow drying our hair to completion for a change? Putting our makeup on at home instead of during our commutes? Remembering people’s names after an introduction? Performing perfectly, productively, every minute of every workday? Sticking to our diets, not slouching ever, even when no one is watching? Reading a book instead of watching television? Balancing our checkbooks? Keeping our apartments perfectly spotless with everything completely organized? Finishing all our projects? Being elegant, in appearance and manner at all times? Imagine what we could be if we lived each moment of our lives at our personal best.

Olympic athletes are amazing because they’ve spent their whole lives striving to be at peak performance at all times. Starting at dawn when they wake up to do their best, all over again. These very extraordinary people don’t put on their “A” game. They are the “A” game. Every day.

As New Yorkers, who live at the epicenter of it all, we have an example to set. The city has not been demonstrating its “A” game for a while now, and that’s our own fault.

This country of ours has certainly not seen it’s “A” game in a long time either. What could we be if we all stepped up? Has our composure left us because we fell off the balance beam? Focus!

What kind of amazing world could we live in if we all became our best? What gold could we win if we collectively became THE “A” game?